


Soul and Salt

by silver_drip



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Inspired By Tumblr, M/M, Protective Natasha Romanov, Saltmates, Soulmates, Steve Rogers is a jerk, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 14:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8017270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/pseuds/silver_drip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One hand has the name of their soulmate. The other hand has the name of their saltmate.</p>
<p>One mate brought love, the other pain. </p>
<p>The day Tony flew to Germany in his Iron Man suit his marks appeared.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soul and Salt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Temul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Temul/gifts).



> For you. Email me please. 
> 
> Wrote this in one day.

* * *

After turning forty Tony gave up on finding either of his mates.

Most found at least one of their mates by age twenty-five. If they were lucky it was their soulmate.

At least Howard had been wrong. Tony couldn’t count how many times he’d shouted that if Tony ever met a mate it would be his saltmate.

He was right on one point though. Tony would never find his soulmate.

*****

Tony wasn’t that surprised by the news that aliens were real.

After all the shit he had been through he was impervious to most.

Magic threw him off for a second.

He saw Captain America and Loki at the same time.

His hands tingled, but he did not notice it over his adrenaline.

*****

The Iron Man suit unwrapped from him. Tony went to run his fingers through his hair and paused.

The name on his right hand was one that had been held over his head even after his father’s death.

He closed his eyes tightly and counted to ten.

When he looked it was still there.

His other hand had a mark too, Loki’s.

He rubbed at the names violently, not believing it. His nails scraped off skin and blood, but it didn’t disappear.

_“Sir, please stop,”_ Jarvis said through the suit. _“The name will not change.”_

“Blueprints of the Helicarrier, now!” A moment later they appeared in blue light. “Nearest lockers. I need gloves.” A white line raced through it and Tony memorized it in an instant.

He shoved his hands in his pocket and started down the route.

Tony jimmied a locker open and pulled on the gloves.

When he made it to the bridge of the Helicarrier he put on his usual bravado even though Steve was there.

Natasha eyed him, seeing the gloves.

Steve was still wearing his uniform gloves.

Tony didn’t get a chance to wonder if he’d seen the new mark yet.

Steve shifted away from him and clasped his hands behind his back.

His expression was pinched.

Tony’s heart dropped.

Either Steve didn’t want him or they were saltmates. Tony didn’t know which he’d prefer.

*****

Tony idly watched Black Widow play Loki.

Both of his hands were blank.

That meant nothing though. If he could disappear his armor he could disappear a mark.

*****

The suit fell away from him as Tony walked into the penthouse.

“My saltmate,” Loki said while chuckling. “If we’d met on Asgard we would have had to duel to the death unless I claimed you as my soulmate.”

“Sounds primitive. From your salty attitude, I figure you either haven’t found your soulmate yet or lost them,” Tony said, trying to stall.

Loki let out a thoughtful hum, his crazed grin never faltering.

“I wonder how I’ll end up hurting you,” Tony said. It was destined to happen.

He felt Loki’s eyes on him as he walked to the bar. He discreetly put his Iron Man bracelets on.

“I assure you that you won’t get a chance.” Loki took a step closer as he spoke and Tony’s heart sped up.

“Drink?” Tony offered, smiling confidently. Loki stared at it a moment before taking it.

He took a sip, Tony’s name appearing on the back of his right hand, or at least Tony thought it was. The mark was in shapes that he figured was Asgardian. Loki brushed his fingers over the mark and they disappeared again.

“Nice trick. I bet you get all the ladies.” Tony gave him a derisive look and Loki’s expression didn’t change. Tony rounded the bar, drink still in hand. “You’re going to lose and I’m going to be the one who defeats you. I’ll tie you up with our red string of fate and send you back to Asgard.”

Loki’s smile became demented.

“How will you do that when you’re fighting at my side?” His heart leapt as Loki tapped his scepter against Tony’s chest.

_Tink._

“This usually works…”

“Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon. One out of five—”

The next moment he was flying through the window.

*****

Tony skipped Thor and Loki’s sending off.

His mind was consumed with what he’d just seen while he carried the nuclear bomb through the wormhole.

There had been so many enemies and this time he fell to the Earth he didn’t expect to survive it.

_“What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me.”_

It had been the spur of the moment comment and had caused Steve to flinch, disgust clear on his face.

They would work it out though… hopefully.

*****

Steve evaded him for two months.

The only reason Tony got him alone was due to a SHIELD meeting about New York’s clean up. At the end of it Natasha ‘accidentally’ locked them in the meeting room alone.

Steve jiggled the knob before easily pulling it off.

“You can’t avoid me forever,” Tony said while putting his hand on the door. It wouldn’t be enough to stop Steve, but Tony had to try something. With every rebuke he felt like he was getting a kick in the stomach.

“I know your reputation, Stark, and it’s disgusting,” Steve said firmly without looking away from the door. “I want no part of it. Homosexuality is wrong. Never speak to me again.”

Tony’s hand dropped from the door and Steve left.

*****

Tony told himself that Steve was just spewing 40’s bullshit that he’d been raised to believe.

He had to believe that.

*****

He watched Steve through cameras.

Steve was so nice to everyone he met…

The only other person he seemed to have any tension with was Natasha, but that was more on her side than his.

Tony figured she knew all about what happened in the conference room.

She and Steve still worked together well though.

Tony envied her for that.

*****

The thought that Loki could be his soulmate ran through Tony’s head too many times.

It would make sense though.

He was the Merchant of Death.

Lives were lost because of his carelessness.

Loki was mental and a killer.

They were a match made in Hell.

He didn’t accept that though.

Tony knew he’d lose his sanity if he ever did.

*****

The panic attacks took him by surprise. He had no one to help him.

Rhodey stepped in though, taking emergency leave to help him.

Happy ended up in the hospital and before Tony could give out his address Rhodey was pulling him away from the reporters.

His past came back to haunt him, but by the end of it he was stronger.

*****

Rhodey tried to convince him to get the arc reactor removed, but Tony felt like a part of his identity would be taken with it.

*****

Jarvis told him about SHIELD’s call for Steve to be captured.

Tony was flying to DC before he knew it.

*****

“We don’t need your help.” Steve’s arms were crossed as he glared at Tony.

Natasha gave Steve a derisive look. The dust she was covered in did nothing to lessen the intensity of her look.

It had taken Tony longer they he’d liked to find them. Thankfully a traffic camera caught them crossing the border into DC.

“I refuse to turn away an asset.” Tony tried not to cringe at being belittled. He was sick of being used. She probably meant it as a compliment. “This is bigger than you, Steve, so pull on your big boy pants and deal with it.”

“I have a safe house in DC. It has gear and food,” Tony offered up, looking at Natasha. She went to speak, but before she could Steve did.

“We’re going to Sam’s. I trust him.”

*****

Steve didn’t like Tony and Sam picked up on that and followed his lead.

For once someone hated him for no reason.

He was certain that would change the second he opened his mouth.

*****

Steve shouted through the comlinks and Tony cringed.

He was just trying to save him. Tony had only tackled the Winter Soldier.

They were starting to get outnumbered when Maria Hill popped out of nowhere.

They only narrowly escaped.

*****

Nick Fury was alive.

Tony wasn’t surprised.

*****

Tony inserted the chip in the second Helicarrier of Mass Destruction with Sam’s help.

Sam was grounded.

It felt like a second later when he saw Steve falling to the water.

The image of the space beyond the wormhole fogged his mind, slowing him down.

Steve hit the water hard, snapping Tony at his terror filled memory.

He pushed his thrusters as fast as they could go.

He had to get to Steve before the Helicarrier came down on him.

His suit wasn’t made for being underwater.

Water streamed in through the joints as he scooped up Steve. His blue eyes were barely open and he wasn’t moving.

Another body fell into the water and Steve reached out weakly for him, away from Tony.

Tony’s thrusters whirred loudly as it struggled to push them towards the surface.

A low energy warning popped on Tony’s HUD, but he couldn’t lose Steve.

The water was up to Tony’s hips and still coming in through the faceplate, splashing against his mouth and eyes.

He saw for an instant the bottom of the dirty bucket his head was dunked in repeatedly during his time in Afghanistan.

They broke the surface.

Steve struggled, but Tony didn’t let go.

He knew Steve didn’t want to be anywhere near him, but Tony was saving his life.

His arc reactor cut out and they came crashing down into the mud banks.

Tony pulled the release notches, throwing the armor off as he choked on the water that had gotten into his mouth.

He fell to his hands and knees. His chest was on fire and the water tasted like rust.

“You moron!”

There was another splashing of water. Tony turned and saw Steve swimming back out towards the falling wreckage.

He started seeing black dots that grew until he could see nothing.

*****

Tony woke up to his body convulsing.

“You died.”

Natasha was kneeled beside him.

Tony reached for his reactor and tried to lift his head to see if it was working.

“I used a Widow Bite on its highest setting. It jumped your reactor and heart.”

Tony opened his mouth and tried to speak, but coughed instead.

“Your body temperature is on the edge of becoming hypothermic. The ambulance can’t come down the bank. Two EMTs are bringing down a stretch.”

He noticed his hands were in hers. He felt a tinge of tenderness from her before realizing she was just trying to keep them warm.

“There’s someone else’s footprints nearby.” Tony broke eye contact with her, knowing she would be able to read the answer to her unspoken question.

The EMTs arrived, saving him from her stare.

*****

The Avengers came together when they found out Hydra had Loki’s scepter.

Natasha made sure she always stood between Tony and Steve. Tony didn’t know if he was thankful for that or not.

Tony swore he wouldn’t ask Thor about Loki, but he broke after Steve set the dinner table for everyone, but Tony.

Thor’s lips thinned and he looked down when Tony blurted out his question.

“Worry not. My brother has gone to Valhalla while regaining his honor and defending Asgard.”

Tony couldn’t breathe.

No one tried to follow him when he ran out.

He took in a large gulp of whiskey straight from the bottle before his lungs started working again.

*****

Ultron came to life and Tony had a panic attack when Steve started shouting at him.

Natasha helped Tony leave as Thor joined in on the shouting.

He curled up in the bathroom, but Steve had followed them and was taking up the whole doorway.

Natasha kicked Steve squarely in the stomach and he fell backwards. She turned on the shower and sink to full blast before going out of the bathroom. She pushed Steve back down while closing the door.

He clutched his hands over his ears, but could still hear them.

*****

Tony had designed the Avengers Compound and started having it built when he first thought he could make things work with Steve.

Steve claimed the compound for himself to train the new Avengers and he made it clear that Tony wasn’t welcome.

*****

Natasha tried to keep in contact with him, but the only things they had to talk about was how the new Avengers were doing.

She was trying though.

Bruce was gone.

Rhodey was with Steve.

Pepper was running Stark Industries.

Jarvis was dead.

But at least he had Natasha, even if each call ended with Tony in tears.

*****

Steve and Sam were out looking for Bucky.

Natasha and Rhodey convinced him to come to the compound.

Wanda glared at him, but it was a mix of sadness and fear.

He couldn’t bear to look at her.

Tony was going to leave again when Steve came back, but he saw a bit of Jarvis in Vision and grasped on to that.

*****

Tony wasn’t deaf to the outside world.

With every new mission they went on fear and paranoia grew.

The Accords came to life from that fear.

The explosion that Wanda tried to divert put an end to the small amount of time he was going to use to convince the UN to make the Accords more palatable to the Avengers.

He introduced the Accords to the Avengers and Steve left before he could finish talking about them.

*****

Rhodey fell and just like with Pepper, Tony was too slow to catch him.

He pushed down his horror at finding out about his paralysis by designing leg braces for him with Friday’s help while they flew to the underwater prison.

*****

Tony closed his eyes as Steve’s shield came flying down towards his neck.

Through his lids he saw a flash of light.

He was dead.

He never believed there was an afterlife in store for him.

Hell hurt, but not as much as he deserved.

A cool hand touched his cheek and some of his pain eased away.

Tony opened his eyes and was met with a ghost.

“I should have guessed I’d see you here,” Tony said, his voice breaking. “Thor said you died as a hero.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long.” Loki’s voice was calming and Tony leaned his face against Loki’s hand.

Tony chuckled, despite the pain.

“I’m the one that kept you waiting.” Tony’s tears cut through the grime on his face.

“You’re alive, Tony. We’re both alive.” Loki ran his fingers through Tony’s hair. “I should have been here for you sooner, but I…”

“You’re here now.” The pain was going away and his eye was no longer swollen. Loki smiled, but it was uncertain. “You’re here now and nothing else matters.” His smile became brighter.

“Your saltmate is dead, but the one that killed your parents is alive. Shall I hold him down as you exact your revenge?” Loki’s question was asked in such an innocent tone that Tony laughed, feeling the last of his anger simmer out.

He hadn’t heard Bucky crawl over to Steve’s body, but he was kneeling beside it. He looked lost.

“No, leave him.”

“He shall come for revenge. I will not allow him to be a threat to you.” Loki sounded protective and it filled Tony with a hope for more than he ever had before.

“I don’t want to be in this place. In this world.” Tony reached for him and Loki took his hand. “Please take me somewhere else.”

“As you wish, my love.”

Green encompassed them, starting them on a journey to recovery and happiness.


End file.
